National search to be launched for director of Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering

National search to be launched for director of Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering

Thursday, April 2, 2015

WEST LAFAYETTE, –

Purdue will be conducting a national search for the position of director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE) in Purdue's Discovery Park.

Steve Witz has announced that he will not seek a renewal of his contract as director of RCHE. He has agreed to continue as director emeritus until his contract expires. Marietta Harrison, professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology in the College of Pharmacy, and special advisor for strategic initiatives in the Office of Research and Partnerships, will serve as interim director during the transition and search for a new director.

During Witz's 10 years of service as director of RCHE, the center grew to $70 million in cumulative funding. Under his leadership, RCHE faculty and staff developed innovative methods for translating health care engineering research into practice to improve health care quality and cost. In February, the center was designated a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This designation places RCHE in a limited group of organizations authorized to receive self-reported accounts of adverse health care events in patients throughout the nation; the accounts will be used for analyses and development of proactive measures for the prevention of medical errors.

Purdue was instrumental in defining modern health care engineering through a seminal report sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine, "Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership." W. Dale Compton, the Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering, was co-chair of the Committee on Engineering and the Health Care System. Witz built upon that platform, ensuring that RCHE activities at Purdue advanced the report objectives to build bridges among engineers, health care, management and other professionals leading to improved health care delivery.

Information on a national search for a new director will be forthcoming.